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William Least Heat-Moon's An Osage Journey to Europe: 1827-1830. It's a translation of French documents about six Native Americans who travelled to Paris and other European cities. They were seen as a sideshow by many, and taken advantage of by some of the Americans who took them there. Many racist and ignorant comments from the time, but in comparing three different sources, you get to what likely was true.

Ultra Superior by Phillip Gary Smith. A short book about the authors participation in the Superior 50 mile trail race. This was a dude, I got not too much out of it (I got it in hopes of some nuggets as I will be doing my first 50 mile trail race in August).

William Shatner's Tek Power. I had this book in my possession for a couple years. So I started it, realizing it was a very fast read. It's about a future where people are denying that a virtual reality "fad" is addictive, where an African American president gets replaced by an android replica, and there's an earthquake that comes out of nowhere. The main character seems to get out of his scrapes far too easily, while everyone else seemingly dies with no problem. It was so-so.

Only 20 years later, eh? I really liked TekWar, and the shows were ok too, but it was never a universe I wanted to spend much more time in.

Darth Vader is becoming the Mickey Mouse of Star Wars.

"In Brooklyn, a castle, is where dwell I"

The use of a lightsaber does not make one a Jedi, it is the ability to not use it.

Dave Barry, retired humor newspaper columnist, has a new book, You Can Date Boys When You're Forty. It had several LOL-worthy parts, then it took a semi-serious turn in tone towards the end (and this was a good thing). Always love his grammar and Q&A sections. And it really has little to do with his teenage daughter's dating interests, as he mentions in the introduction (his alternate book titles were a good laugh).

"I went to Star Wars Celebration VII in Anaheim, and I didn't get even a lousy t-shirt."

A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold. Aldo Leopold was originally from Iowa and became on of the first conservation warden with the US Fish and Game Service. He lived the last 30 years or so of his life in Wisconsin teaching at the University of Wisconsin and experimenting with the land on the farm he bought an hour or so NW of Madison. This book includes his reflections on land, animals, conservation etc. Its funny how a book nearly 70 years old still hits on so many points today that Leopold saw as being an issue back in the 40's.

Thomas C. Foster's How to Read Literature Like a Professor. A colleague gave me a copy, since the Honors teachers use it, and I am interested in applying to teach Honors, I felt obligated to read it. So much so, that I now have his other book about in-depth reading of novels. Very well put together, good examples.

David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas. I haven't seen the movie, but I can see why some moviegoers didn't like it. It's several mini novels all tied together, but while the idea's awesome, I felt it fell flat and left me waiting for some tie-in that never comes. And being 500+ pages in small font didn't help it much.

"I went to Star Wars Celebration VII in Anaheim, and I didn't get even a lousy t-shirt."

Francesca Lia Block's Love in the Time of Global Warming. Somehow, I thought this was a different book (but unsure which book). It's a teen post-apocalyptic story, based on the events of Homer's The Odyssey; in fact, a character has a copy of the book and reads from it throughout. Some geographic anomalies (which for an LA-based author seem odd, and not just in wandering-like-Odysseus odd: So, you're heading from the coastal LA area to Vegas? Go to Cabazon, then the Salton Sea, first ), far too much profanity for a YA novel to me, odd references to art and history (I liked them; just seemed out of place in a YA story). Decent and concise, a quick and easy read.

Thomas C. Foster's similarly-titled How to Read Novels Like a Professor. This one wasn't quite as good as the first, but it did leave me with some more titles to read at some point in the future (i.e. when I have the time).

"I went to Star Wars Celebration VII in Anaheim, and I didn't get even a lousy t-shirt."

Dead Angler (A Loon Lake Mystery #1) by Victoria Houston. A body is found by a retired dentist and the Loon Lake chief of police while fishing. The story takes place in fictional Loon Lake, Wisconsin. Although the city is made up its based on people and things in the area. A co worker gave me a bunch of books from the LL series because he has a cabin in Northern Wisconsin and he knows I like to read).

but it did leave me with some more titles to read at some point in the future (i.e. when I have the time).

... including Tim O'Brien's Going After Cacciato. I found the premise fascinating (put the rough plot of Alice in Wonderland into the setting of the Vietnam War), and it was done quite well. Sometimes it was funny, often it was serious and frustrating to watch the characters struggle with their dilemmas, with a resolution that fit well.

And apparently I insulted a SSG Forumite with my 4-star rating of it. :NowFriendlessOnTheWeb:

"I went to Star Wars Celebration VII in Anaheim, and I didn't get even a lousy t-shirt."